Children in Poverty Racial Disparity in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

Large and persistent racial and ethnic disparities exist among children living in poverty in the United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, an estimated 12.4% of children under 18 lived in poverty in 2022, which is more than double the 2021 rate of 5.2%. The 2021 poverty rate showed significant variation among different racial and ethnic groups, ranging from 8.8% of non-Hispanic white children living in poverty to 27.3% of non-Hispanic Black children. 

Families with incomes below the federal poverty level may struggle to meet the basic needs of their children. Moreover, living in poverty can cause toxic stress among children, increasing the risk of poor physical, behavioral, socio-emotional and cognitive health.

Across all age groups, Black and Hispanic populations have remained consistently overrepresented in poverty. The persistence of poverty across generations is more common among Black than white families. Studies show that Black children who experience a year or more of childhood poverty are twice as likely as their white counterparts to experience adulthood poverty.

The prevalence of childhood poverty is higher among:

• Black and American Indian/Alaska Native children, both of whom have a prevalence approximately three times higher than that of Asian and white children. 
• Children of single mothers compared with those who live in a household with two parents or a single father. Black and American Indian/Alaska Native children are most likely to live in single-parent households.
• Children ages 0-5 compared with older children.

Recent innovations to mitigate the adverse effects of childhood poverty use the two-generation approach. This approach promotes family resilience by combining support and education programs for parents with early childhood intervention programs to create a stronger whole-family experience.

Access to fair opportunities in education for low-income individuals and people of color is needed to strengthen communities. This requires an equitable investment of state and federal funds into K-12 schools. Reducing bias in the criminal justice system could be achieved by expanding alternative options to prison or juvenile justice facilities and investing in community programs focused on rehabilitation.

Many government programs and community interventions exist to help reduce the number of children in poverty and support low-income families:

• The earned income tax credit (EITC), the largest U.S. poverty-alleviation program, provides a tax credit to employed families and individuals living in poverty. Research shows that the benefits of the program include decreased prevalence of low birth weight and preterm infants and increased prevalence of breastfeeding. One study calculated that an annual $3,000 from the EITC for a family with a child younger than age 5 will lead to an average 19% increase in future earnings for the child.
• The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), previously known as food stamps, provides nutrition benefits to families in need. Increasing SNAP benefits can help ensure children have consistent access to nutritious food and mitigate the effects of poverty on children’s health. 
• The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) provides food and nutritional support specifically to pregnant and postpartum women and children. WIC has been associated with a lower prevalence of low birth weight infants, with greater gains among women with low educational attainment levels.
• Child First is a comprehensive program that provides financial, housing and food support and early childhood interventions for low-income families. 
• Medicaid provides health care to low-income adults, pregnant women and children.
• Universal basic income programs can provide those living in poverty with regular cash transfers to meet basic needs regardless of employment status, age or other restrictive conditions.
• The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine proposed four policy packages that would reduce child poverty by 24%-52% while using existing policy options to maximize effectiveness.

While not specific to children, reducing the proportion of people living in poverty is a Healthy People 2030 economic stability objective.

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